Lidia Simon

Clear Skies Ahead

After a sixth place finish in the 1996 Olympic marathon and a third place performance in the '99 world championship marathon, Lidia Simon entered the Sydney Olympics with visions of gold. The marathon was held on the birthday of Lidia Simon’s manager, Hideshi Okamoto, and two days prior to her husband Liviu’s birthday. As she departed for the race, confident and fitter than ever after months of solid—if somewhat unorthodox—training in Boulder, CO, she turned to the men and said, "Today, I will bring very nice birthday present for you."

Did she ever. She closed valiantly on Naoko Takahashi of Japan, gaining 20 seconds in the last two kilometers, to secure the Olympic silver medal. In the last 400 meters around the track, with the race seemingly out of reach, she pressed on, not relenting until Takahashi crossed the finish line. Upon seeing her manager and husband after the race, an exasperated Simon said, "I’m sorry I didn’t bring the shiniest medal."

Today, Simon says she is tired of "seeing others’ backs" and that she wants to see nothing but "clear skies ahead" when she finishes the marathon at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton. To get her there Liviu, a former professional soccer player in Romania who studied kinesiology and exercise physiology in college, has designed a unique training regimen with an emphasis on speed endurance. That she typically runs twice a day, five days a week, and does several steady 60 to 90 minute runs at 8,000 ft. is not unusual. What is remarkable is that she also incorporates lightning quick 33-minute 10K training runs on the track and abstains from any long runs. Unlike the Japanese marathoners who typically log runs of up to 30 miles around the Boulder reservoir, Simon’s longest run will only be 25K. According to Okamoto, the rationale behind the training is that, "In the world, the marathon is now a speed race. Once she has the right speed, she can continue to go. Endurance, you don’t need. You can run under 2:30 easily (with endurance training), but not under 2:20."

Growing up in Craiova, in southern Romania, Simon developed her aerobic ability by running eight kilometers a day to and from school. A national team coach discovered her as a 14 year old, and from then on she trained with the nation’s most promising runners. It was not until 1995, though, that she broke through to join the ranks of the world’s elite with a tenth place finish in the world championship marathon in Goteborg, Sweden. More impressive than her placing was the grit it took her to finish. She battled painful blisters in the latter half of the race, and finished with her shoes soaked in blood.

Okamoto further credits Simon’s decision in 1997 to forsake the bitter Romanian winters for long training stints in Boulder’s friendlier climes for her steady progress. Simon studies English in her free time, and hopes the INS grants her permanent resident status by the end of 2001.